On Saturday, Wisconsin hosts No. 3 Michigan at Kohl Center. It gets started at 12 a.m. EST and you can see it on ESPN. The Badgers are 6-1 against the Wolverines over the last four years. They fell 59-41 on Jan. 8, 2012, the last time they met.

Wisconsin is in fourth place in the Big Ten, Michigan is in first place.

In a 74-70 win over Iowa on Feb. 6, Ben Brust put up 18 points and 6 rebounds for the Badgers. He contributes a team-high 2.7 assists per game and 1 steals per game. In a 76-74 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 5, Trey Burke put up 16 points and 8 assists for the Wolverines. He contributes a team-leading 18.1 points per game, 7.2 assists per game, and 1.3 steals per game.

Michigan has a statistical edge over Wisconsin in a single key area, scoring, where the Wolverines have the upper hand over the Badgers, 77 points per game to 67 points per game. Areas of strength for Michigan include: effective field goal percentage at 57.6 percent and turnover percentage at 14.8 percent.

Michigan StatSmack

  • Wisconsin is better under pressure, and has defeated Michigan in 4 out of the last 6 games decided by 5 points or fewer.
  • We just win. Wisconsin has more wins over the last 5 years than Michigan (142 vs 112).
  • Wisconsin has a much lower average debt at graduation according to Kiplinger than Michigan ($21,552 vs $26,819).
  • Wisconsin takes less vacation, with more NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 10 years than Michigan (10 vs 3).
  • Ben Brust is ranked 8th in the Big Ten in three-pointers.
  • The Wisconsin blocks leader (Jared Berggren, 45 blocks) has more blocks than the Michigan blocks leader (Mitch McGary, 16 blocks).
  • Wisconsin has a much better Kiplinger Out-of-State Ranking than Michigan (#11 vs #34).
  • We have a history of cultivating talent. Over the past 10 years, Wisconsin has had more players drafted by the NBA than Michigan (3 vs 2).
  • It must sting. Wisconsin has blown out Michigan by 20 points or more on 3 occasions since 2001.
  • At least you keep showing up. Wisconsin has an average margin of victory of 11 over Michigan in 26 wins since 1980.
  • The Wisconsin rebounding leader (Ryan Evans, 176 rebounds) has more rebounds than the Michigan rebounding leader (Mitch McGary, 138 rebounds).